Legislative Compromise Quotes

A good compromise, a good piece of legislation, is like a good sentence; or a good piece of music. Everybody can recognize it. They say, 'Huh. It works. It makes sense.'

I have wondered at times what the Ten Commandments would have looked like if Moses had run them through the US Congress.

I have, year after year, been named the most bipartisan member of the whole United States Senate. I have proved my independence.

There never was a law yet made, I conceive, that hit the taste exactly of every man, or every part of the community; of course, if this be a reason for opposition, no law can be executed at all without force, and every man or set of men will in that case cut and carve for themselves; the consequences of which must be deprecated by all classes of men, who are friends to order, and to the peace and happiness of the country.

One big reason liberals come across as intolerant of ordinary Americans today is their preference for court decisions and regulatory mandates over democratically debated and approved legislation. This preference for working around the people’s elected representatives feeds all-or-nothing outcomes that are devoid of the accommodations and compromises which almost always feature in any legislative solution. It is these accommodations and compromises, moreover, that help make the outcome acceptable even to the losing side.

It's tempting to engage in anti-gun polemics and hope that popular opinion will dramatically shift, but it is also likely a mistake. The smarter course for those who want stronger federal gun-control laws anytime soon is legislative stewardship and compromise.

Negotiating deals among members of Congress is an exercise in wearing masks, scaring up votes, and, oftentimes, bluffing.

On the Sandy bill, I did the best I could on waste, fraud and abuse, and then when the final bill comes, you don't say, 'Hell, no' because you didn't get everything you want in there.

Despite my fierce opposition to the bill, I signed up for insurance through the exchanges and instructed my staff do the same.

Legislatures now pass statutes because of, not despite, their lack of clarity. By using vague language, legislators can avoid making the difficult political choices that they have to confront when drafting a statute precisely.

So we, Democrats, have a responsibility there, every one of us, both to try to treat the Republicans with respect and as human beings to try to work with them on every issue we can, and then if those cannons are fired at us, we've got to stand up and fight back. If you lay down and you look like a deer caught in the headlights, then you will confirm the assault. And so we have to fight back.

God's greatest gift: the conference committee.

The President has to persuade Congress to do what they do not want to do.

The last thing I will pay attention to is any of the usual Washington back and forth.

Tom Daschle and I worked together on Families First every step of the way, making sure that Democrats in both the House and Senate were involved in putting the agenda together.

The traditional role of the Senate has been to be the adult in the room.

The House of Representatives was not designed to sit idly by and rubberstamp every piece of legislation sent their way by the Senate, especially legislation passed on a straight party line vote under the spurious policy of reconciliation.

If the present Congress errs in too much talking, how can it be otherwise in a body to which the people send one hundred and fifty lawyers, whose trade it is to question everything, yield nothing, and talk by the hour?

I'm not sure we will have every single Democrat ... but we want a large number of Republicans to be able to vote for this bill because we think that will encourage the House not only to move forward but to pass a bill.

Throughout my time in Congress, I've made it my priority to work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, to look past partisanship and to help pass commonsense legislation so we can help working families in Nevada and across our country.

I voted for the Deficit Reduction Package with significant heartburn over the student aid provisions.

All I'm asking for is the law that's been on the books for the last 33 years, no public funding for abortion. We are both saying the same thing, pro-life, pro-choice. Let's find the language that works for both of us so we can pass health care.

In the legislative arena, especially when the country is closely divided, compromises tend to be the rule the day. But when judges rule this or that policy unconstitutional, there's little room for compromise: One side must win, the other must lose.

I ran on forming broad coalitions with people throughout the caucus and across the aisle, and so that involves the Blue Dogs, people who are talking about tax reform.

The way it's supposed to work is you pass a bill out of the House, you pass a bill out of the Senate, you go to conference on it, and you iron out the differences.